Thursday, July 19, 2007

Rhapsody with Lemons


Add the warmth and sparkle of lemons and fresh ginger to your meal
First concocted in Columbus Ohio in 1996; a poor imitation of my grandmother's pickles.

Ingredients
12 – 14 fresh lemons
2 large segments of tender fresh ginger
12 fresh jalapeno peppers
16 fresh Serrano or Thai peppers
18-20 tsp sea salt or table salt
4 cups virgin raw sesame oil (light)
2 tsp mustard seeds
6 dried chillies
6 tsp turmeric powder
16 tsp coarse chili powder
3 tsp asafoetida (lightly fried and ground)
3 tsp fenugreek seeds (toasted dark and ground)
2 tbsp white sugar

Ø Cut the lemons, ginger and chilies making sure to use a clean and dry knife and surface.
a. First slice off a bit near the stem of each lemon
b. Then cut each lemon into 8 segments each by cutting each into half and then each half into four quarters.
c. Peel, slice and cut the ginger stems into 1cm pieces.
d. Slice the jalapeno’s lengthwise and remove the seeds
e. Chop the Serrano’s into 5mm pieces

Ø Layer the lemons, chilies and ginger into a large glass or ceramic bowl sprinkling the salt liberally over each layer.
Ø Allow this to marinade for five days on a cool shelf. Keep it covered but stir once a day with a clean, dry spoon or spatula
Ø Heat the sesame oil in a large heavy bottom 6 quart sauté pan
Ø Add mustard seeds and allow them to sputter for a few seconds
Ø Add dried chillies broken into large pieces and stir
Ø Add the turmeric and asafetida. As soon as they are fried add all the other dry ingredients and stir for about 1 minute.
Ø Add the cut ingredients and heat over a medium flame while stirring gently and frequently until the mixture comes to a gentle boil.
Ø Add sugar and stir in.
Ø Remove from heat and allow to cool uncovered.
Ø Spoon into canning bottles.
Ø Refrigerate
Ø Send a jar or two to Shankar


HINTS
Use the freshest possible ingredients.
Get the tenderest bits of ginger you can find and the freshest of chilies.
If you do not have asafoetida pieces you could use the powdered form but increase the quantity by one tsp.
Use the best quality sesame oil but for a lighter taste you may use half sesame and half canola oil.

No comments: